Mobil 1 0W16

I've heard of people moving up to 5w30 on the Gen3, but first time I've seen someone moving down to 0w16. Might cause engine damage to get 1 extra mpg.

 

Is the engine designed for this viscosity oil?

 

Someone tried 0W-16 on their Honda Clarity PHEV:

0w16 oil | Honda Clarity Forum

Please see post #5 as to why that may not be a good idea to try/try at your own risk.

 

I suspect 0W16 will be ok. Still myself, I'd stick to the spec'd oil weight. Or heavier.

 

Those pistons are designed and engineered for a specific oil viscosity...using lighter oil will cause them to wear quicker, especially in a 2010! Stick to what it says on the oil fill cap...there's plenty of other things to be done to get better MPGs.

 

No chance it will make the engine smoother and any mpg improvement might require a lab setting to prove. If anything you could get opposite results if it affects the variable valve timing which is hydraulic. Toyota usually allows a slightly higher viscosity oil in a pinch as long as you change it in half the time.

 

If I owned a G3 I wouldn't care so much about mileage and would be more concerned about keeping that engine healthy. Like running very high quality 30 weight oil and staying on top of the EGR issues. One $$$ engine failure will wipe out a lifetime of mpg gains.

Running oil thinner than water will not help that engine in fact it will make the solid lifters extra loud. Loud means there not happy.

 

A lot of contrived theories here but the fact remains:
The difference between 0W20 and 0W16 is a teeny-tiny difference
that is NOT likely to perform any differently in an actual engine in normal use.

 

ILSAC went through the trouble of separating 6A and 6B to distinguish that they’re not confident in saying 0W-16 is backwards compatible with any 0W-20.

Unless Mobil’s oil application guide online says it’s okay to use 0W-16 I’d say hard pass. Well I guess it’s okay if you have very deep pockets:

What type of oil and oil filter for my car? Car oil recommendation | Mobil™ Motor Oils

Walmart has an easy returns/exchange process just swap it out for the Hybrid 0W-20 or some other….

 

OR.....they aren't really confident that 0W16 is the best choice for ANY engine.....really.......
So THEY don't want to be blamed if the vehicle maker doesn't specifically recommend it.

 

OR- They’re just as confident that is the best choice AS specified by the vehicle manufacturer…

 

Our 2011 has over 130K on the odometer. The last oil change, with less than 1500 miles driven in 7 months, mostly to and from work less than 2 miles one way, had very dark colored oil.

The OCC had a volume of oil only about half of what was in there before when the OCI was 5K miles and work was 18 mostly freeway miles away.

I'm not ready to go to 5w-30 oil yet, but I'm considering using maybe 2 quarts of 5w-30 and the remaining volume 0w-20 to try to reduce the blowby past the rings.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

It’s funny if you go to Toyota Mexico for example the oil weight in owners manuals is not pegged to 0W-20.

The new Mobil “Hybrid” oil may interest you as well:

MOBIL 1 HYBRID 0W-20

 

Picked up a 5 qt container for $27 from Walmart last weekend. Interesting they are responding to thermal cycling effects.

 

I’ve never seen some of the ingredients listed in the SDS. It’s more than just addressing “cooler running temps”, but also: countering contaminants, increase protection of emissions equipment, improved fuel economy, 15k mi guaranteed protection (or 1 yr whichever’s first).

Lots of S containing ingredients including Zinc and organo Moly S complex…



Since it’s 1st recommended I ordered a 5 qt and some cat food to avail of free shipping as my nearest Walmart is unreliable with regards to stock status…

 

Toyota says 0W-20 here in the USA I suspect to keep the EPA MPG listed. In Mexico that Prius manual shows the same engine can use up to 15W-40. The little note on the side means if the ambient drops too cold then you might experience a hard to start condition.

Hey, I have a teenage boy. He rarely listens to me. I’m happy if nothing bad happens and unhappy when something does whether he listens or not. Just sharing my thoughts. I’m already nervous about 0W-20 when it gets very hot here, let alone 0W-16…

 

BTW- @viscositosis tribocessive (name synonymous with someone serious about oil) noted (s)he switched to 0W-20 by 2018:

Oil Burning Prius...Common Factors? | Page 5 | PriusChat

 

Could you elaborate on this a bit? I don't understand how this happens with different weight synthetics.....